Magnitude 6.4 quake strikes Vanuatu in Pacific: USGS

(Reuters) - A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck Vanuatu’s Erromango island in the Pacific Ocean on Thursday, but caused no damage, the U.S. Geological Survey and local authorities said.

The USGS said the quake struck the centre of the island, Vanuatu’s fourth largest, at 7:09 a.m. (2009 GMT on Wednesday) and was fairly deep at 124.4 miles (200 km), which would have dampened its effect.

Erromango has a population of just under 2,000 people.

The Vanuatu Meteorological Services & Geohazard Department said the earthquake caused no damage to the Pacific island nation.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said the quake did not pose a tsunami threat.

The Vanuatu volcanic archipelago, east of Australia in the Pacific Ocean, is in the so-called Ring of Fire and prone to earthquakes.